Air Koryo

Early years

SOKAO (Soviet–Korean Airline, ) was established as a joint North Korean-Soviet venture in early 1950 to connect Pyongyang with Moscow. Regular flights began that same year.[8] Services were suspended during the Korean War, resuming in 1953 under the name Ukamps run by the North Korean Bureau of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Transport with service between Pyongyang, Beijing, and Shenyang. The state airline was then placed under the control of the Civil Aviation Administration of Korea (CAAK) and re-branded Korean Airways, starting operations on 21 September 1955 with Lisunov Li-2, Antonov An-2 and Ilyushin Il-12 aircraft. Ilyushin Il-14s and Ilyushin Il-18s were added to the fleet in the 1960s.[4]

Expansion

North Korea, along with some of the Warsaw nations reportedly expressed interest when the Soviet Tu-104 was introduced in 1956, even ordering a demonstration flight to Pyongyang that year. However, such an advanced and expensive type was not suitable for the nation's economic conditions at that time.[9] Jet operations commenced two decades later in 1975 when the first Tupolev Tu-154 was delivered for service from Pyongyang to Prague, East Berlin, and Moscow with refueling stops in Irkutsk and Novosibirsk, as the Tu-154 had insufficient range. Tu-134s and An-24s were also delivered to start domestic services. From 1969 until the later 1980s, China had no direct flights to the USSR and vice-versa as a result of the Sino-Soviet Split. The occasional official travellers between the superpowers often transited through Pyongyang, served by both Aeroflot and CAAC.[10] The regime took advantage of Pyongyang's position of being the most practical transit point as the only airport in the world that had flights both to China and the USSR, charging exorbitant landing fees for these airlines. The Tu-154 fleet was increased at the start of the 1980s, while the first long-haul Ilyushin Il-62 was delivered back in 1979 (two of these aircraft are used in VIP configuration), allowing Korean Airways to offer a direct non-stop service to Moscow for the first time, as well as serving Sofia and Belgrade.

Alongside Soviet aircraft, North Korea also considered acquiring Concorde supersonic jets for Air Koryo under a plan by Kim Il Sung to boost the country's international prestige. North Korea and Aérospatiale and British Aerospace – Concorde's two European manufacturers – signed a preliminary purchase agreement with the country for two Concordes in 1979, but the deal never proceeded because of North Korea's economic challenges and Cold War tensions between East and West.[11] The original plan was to acquire the Tu-144 from friendly USSR, and Chosonminhang pilots were flown to Russia to begin training for the type. However Soviet aviation authorities were hesitant to allow the sale to proceed due to fear of compromising sensitive military technology and refused to build their order.[12] Air Koryo was the only foreign airline who expressed interest in China's failed Y-10 passenger liner during the early '80s, believing it to be a cheaper alternative to Soviet transports.[13] During the 1990s, in an effort to boost relations with the US manufacturing/engineering industry following the massive Agreed Framework, Air Koryo attempted to purchase McDonnell Douglas MD-80 based passenger liners to replace its ageing Tu-134 fleet for intermediate international flights, forging very good relations with the aerial giant. The deal went so far that Air Koryo decided to place the MD-82 as a fleet member on one of its brochures in 1996[2], but pressure from MD shareholders and senior US Government officials forced the cancellation of the deal.

21st century

The end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe saw a vast reduction in the number of international services offered. Korean Airways re-branded as Air Koryo on 28 March 1992, and in 1993, ordered three Ilyushin Il-76 freight aircraft to carry cargo to and from its destinations in China and Russia.[14][15]

Air Koryo purchased a Tupolev Tu-204-300 aircraft in December 2007 and another in March 2010 to replace its aging international fleet. With the Tu-204, Air Koryo would be able to fly to Europe.[16][17]

Due to safety and maintenance concerns, Air Koryo was added to the list of air carriers banned in the European Union in March 2006. The European Commission found evidence of serious safety deficiencies on the part of Air Koryo during ramp inspections in France and Germany. Air Koryo persistently failed to address these issues during other subsequent ramp inspections performed by the EU under the SAFA programme, pointing to blatant systemic safety deficiencies at Air Koryo operations. The airline failed to reply to an inquiry by the French Civil Aviation Authority regarding its safety operations, pointing to a lack of transparency or communication on the part of Air Koryo. The plan by Air Koryo for corrective action, presented in response to France's request, was found to be inadequate and insufficient. The EC also held that North Korean authorities did not adequately oversee the flag carrier, which it was obliged to do under the Chicago Convention. Therefore, on the basis of the common criteria,[18] the Commission assessed that Air Koryo did not meet the relevant safety standards.[19]

In September 2009, Air Koryo ordered an additional Tupolev Tu-204-300 and a single Tupolev Tu-204-100. Air Koryo was to receive its first of two Tupolev Tu-204-100B aircraft fitted with 210 seats. Flights to Dalian in China were added to the Air Koryo schedule. Also, twice weekly Tu-134 flights from Pyongyang and direct services from Pyongyang to Shanghai Pudong were inaugurated with a two weekly service on JS522 and returning on JS523[20] in 2010.[21]

In March 2010, Air Koryo was allowed to resume operations into the EU only with their Tu-204 aircraft, which were fitted with the necessary equipment to comply with mandatory international standards.[22][23] In April 2011, Air Koryo launched its first services to Malaysia with the inauguration of flights from Pyongyang to Kuala Lumpur.[24] The flights operated twice a week utilizing the Tu-204, but were cancelled in mid-2017 due to sanctions imposed resulting from the poisoning murder of Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport by suspected North Korean agents.[25]

In 2011, Air Koryo also inaugurated services to Kuwait City, being operated weekly by Tu-204 aircraft. The services operate during peak travel season – April to October.[26]In 2012, Air Koryo resumed flights to Kuala Lumpur but ceased the service in 2014 along with its expansion into Harbin, China.[27][28] In 2012, Juche Travel Services, a company operating tours to North Korea, launched "aviation enthusiast" tours using chartered Air Koryo aircraft, which offered visitors the chance to fly on every type of Air Koryo aircraft within North Korea, the Mil-17, An-24, Tu-134, Tu-154, and Il-62. The international services were operated by An-148, Tu-154, or Tu-204.[29]

In 2017, during the rule of North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un, there were signs that Air Koryo was branching out into commercial sectors beyond aviation, providing goods and services as diverse as petrol stations, taxis, tobacco, soft drinks, and tinned pheasant meat.[30]

As of 2021, two further Tupolev Tu-204-100B aircraft were allegedly prepared to be leased to Air Koryo.[31] However, both have since been sighted with the name of Sky KG Airlines added on top of Air Koryo's colors and have been moved to Zhukovsky International Airport by Moscow, where they remain as of November 2023.[32] Intelligence and media reports suggest that North Korea might still be trying to acquire these two jets with Russian assistance as of November 2023.

COVID-19 pandemic

Air Koryo was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On 24 January 2020, the airline canceled several flights to China – to Macao, Shanghai, and Shenyang – and on 1 February canceled its two remaining international routes to Beijing and Vladivostok.[33][34] International flights remained canceled through August 2023, flying anew on 22 August to Beijing and on 25 August to Vladivostok using Tu–204 aircraft.[35]

The company flew to neighboring China to collect COVID-19-related supplies.[36][37]

Current fleet

As of August 2025, Air Koryo operates the following fleet for international routes:[51]

Historic, domestic routes fleet and unknown status

Air Koryo may have been planning to add either a Ilyushin Il-86 or Ilyushin Il-96 to its fleet, according to a 1993 timetable.[58]

Tupolev Tu-204

The first Tupolev Tu-204-300 for Air Koryo was officially handed over to the carrier on 27 December 2007, and was ferried from Ulyanovsk to Pyongyang. It has been fitted out with 16 business class seats and the remaining 150 seats are economy. The Tu-204 aircraft are currently scheduled on all international flights out of Pyongyang. With the arrival of the new aircraft, a new seasonal route to Singapore was introduced and the Pyongyang-Bangkok route was resumed in 2008. Its first revenue-earning flight was made on 8 May 2008. Air Koryo operates another version of the Tu-204 jet, a Tu-204-100B, which they took delivery of in March 2010. The Tu-204-300 is a shortened version of the Tu-204-100B.[59] It started operating scheduled services on 5 March 2010.[60] The two Tupolev Tu-204 were given the rights to operate into the European Union in March 2010, and remain the only planes the airline is allowed to operate to the EU.[61][62]

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